Connect with Us

City Hall and businesses are more energy efficient

Federal Way is seeing the results of a $777,000 federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant that was awarded in 2010. Thanks to the grant, the city was able to make itself more energy efficient and costs less to heat.

One of the largest projects funded by the grant was the replacement of the HVAC system at City Hall. According to the city, in the first three months of operation, the new system has saved 41,000 kilowatt-hours over the same three-month period in 2010, and cost $3,975 less for the same period. Along with the HVAC replacement, the city has worked on identifying a number of low-cost and no-cost energy savings methods which, when implemented, are expected to save another 3 to 5 percent in energy consumption.

Another part of the grant funding has gone toward traffic signals and making them more efficient. One example of success is the signal at South 312th Street, between 8th Avenue South and 23rd Avenue South.

According to the city, an initial assessment has shown a 22 percent reduction in overall travel time and delay due to the signal’s conversion. The public works department has converted 53 of the city’s 80 signals, with a full analysis of these conversions expected to be completed in early 2012.

$160,000 of the grant was put toward small business energy conservation retrofits. There are currently 26 retrofit projects under way. Puget Sound Energy will partner with the city once that work is done, to provide a full analysis of the energy and cost savings provided by these retrofits.

One early study shows that, to date, 147,564 kilowatt-hours and 6,528 therms have been saved. A therm is another energy/heat unit of measure used by the industry, which is equivalent to burning 100 cubic feet of natural gas, according to a Wikipedia article.

These savings in business have come from the installation of 143 compact fluorescent lamps and 95 faucet aerators.

We encourage an open exchange of ideas on this story's topic, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. Personal attacks, inappropriate language, and off-topic comments may be removed, and comment privileges revoked, per our Terms of Use. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.